Midfielders other than Bellingham

[dmishra]

It's crazy that even with the prospect of signing 3 midfielders I still look at the renewed squad and think it looks a bit thin. Hendo, Fabinho, Thiago - old and mostly shit and/or injured. Jones and Elliott - totally unproven. Err, that's it.

What the fuck they were thinking last summer God only knows. Completely delusional.

Thiago is out of contract in 2024, and Hendo and Fabinho look like they'll be completely unplayable in 18 months. We'll need 2 more midfielders the following summer. And probably an attacker to replace Salah and a left-back to replace Robbo.

A complete mess.

If we get things absolutely 100% right this summer, and we have the benefit of a short season (no bullshit Europa League or Conference League distractions), we might put together some sort of title challenge again. But really the odds are that we're going to spend the rest of the Klopp era fighting for a top 4 spot.

 

[Hyena]

The more I think about it, the more this decision makes sense. Signing Bellingham without being able to also invest in the required supporting cast would be ensuring failure and one could argue would be unfair to Bellingham himself, because he would get the bulk of the criticism given the price tag. Now he will have to make a decision whether to wait for LFC one more season - and there is no reason why a 19-year-old couldn’t stay in Dortmund where he is adored for another year - and if he chases the money of City or glamour of Madrid than maybe we were wrong about him being the man to build our team around for the next 10 years.

Let’s build up the squad, fill the obvious holes with quality and talent, clear out the has-beens and the freeloaders and then in a year we can think about adding a “cherry on top” player. Whether that player will be Bellingham or someone else will be up to him.

Isn't this what we have said for the past three years?

Reality: We'll buy JWP, and sink down to 15th in the table. Bellingham says fuck dat shit. We buy some 'fighters' for 2025's relegation dogfight. Henry blames Klopp.

 

[Frogfish]

It's crazy that even with the prospect of signing 3 midfielders I still look at the renewed squad and think it looks a bit thin. Hendo, Fabinho, Thiago - old and mostly shit and/or injured. Jones and Elliott - totally unproven. Err, that's it.

What the fuck they were thinking last summer God only knows. Completely delusional.

I'm pretty sure they (or any of us - hindsight is great isn't it) didn't think that Hendo & Fabs' form would fall off a cliff (which TBF they've recovered from slightly) and that they had more time (an extra season) to continue the evolution, they started with Jota/Nunez, not require a revolution (which it looks like where we're at now).

Also Jones and Elliott as squad players are fine for now (until we find better), we need to have some youngsters coming through so it's not all flash the cash, which we can't afford to do.

Happily Bajcetic and Doak look the business and will take two of those squad slots. Maybe one of Ramsay / Bradley and Gordon too. We are never going to spend like City / Chelsea / United to fill the squad so need these players (and players like Thiago who may not be an automatic starter next season but is a top class, even if aging, backup).

 

[Frogfish]

The more I think about it, the more this decision makes sense. Signing Bellingham without being able to also invest in the required supporting cast would be ensuring failure and one could argue would be unfair to Bellingham himself, because he would get the bulk of the criticism given the price tag. Now he will have to make a decision whether to wait for LFC one more season - and there is no reason why a 19-year-old couldn’t stay in Dortmund where he is adored for another year - and if he chases the money of City or glamour of Madrid than maybe we were wrong about him being the man to build our team around for the next 10 years.

Let’s build up the squad, fill the obvious holes with quality and talent, clear out the has-beens and the freeloaders and then in a year we can think about adding a “cherry on top” player. Whether that player will be Bellingham or someone else will be up to him.

The issue with a 19 year old waiting on unfulfilled promises (as it seems next Summer was) is that maybe he can no longer believe us. FSG or Klopp may no longer be in control come Summer 2025 and that boat sailed while he kicks his heels at Dortmund.
If I was him I'd also be strongly considering a financial package that within the space of 5 years would make my and my family's future totally secure for life. That's not glamour that's the cold hard facts of life.

 

[bluebell]

Not sure why Gavi and FdJ are not in the conversation? FdJ would cost about £60m, and Barca would be up for doing cash plus Thiago deal. We know LFC are useless at selling.
MF options we've been linked to
Ugarte €53m, Gonclaves €80m, Gravenbach (Loan) Kone €35m, FdJ €70m, Gavi (Free), Alex Scott €30m, Thuram €35m, Tielemans (Free), Kamada (Free) Barella €50m, Mount €70m Gallagher €50m, Rice €80m, Musah €35 Tchoumeni €80m Koopenmeiers €30m
There are some East Europeans who play in the Italian League but their names are just too cumbersome for me like Milo...vic
If we sold Jota or Salah, then Gonclaves would be the first signature I would seek. He basically can play anywhere (wings, MF and FW).

 

[Red Bird]

You would like to think they all are or should be.

I think once we realised how irredeemably sh1t our midfield there was no way on earth we were going splurge that much in one player in a position for which we haven’t the direst need. It’s the 6 and 4 positions that are most in urgent need of addressing.

 

[tomasjj]

De Jong would be great. But he has repeatedly said he is happy and wants to stay, even if they have tried for ages to force him out.

 

[Donavan Ried]

If that’s true, I hope he stays with Dortmund for one more season and we revisit the issue next summer. He is still only 19, which is hard to believe - plenty of time to sort out his future.

I have exactly the same feeling now as when I heard the news that Van Dijk’s transfer from Southampton fell through - absolutely gutted and in disbelief. I just cannot imagine this player in Man City or Madrid colours.

Let us see... We are unable to compete in the transfer market for players against teams like City, Chelsea, Utd, Real, Barca, PSG and the best that we can hope for is that a "Player" chooses to stay at a club for another season in hopes that the transfer fee will not be so high.... Really?

Wish FSG would be gone already. Sell the club before the summer window opens so that we can have some money to by players like Jude.

 

[Donavan Ried]

The more I think about it, the more this decision makes sense. Signing Bellingham without being able to also invest in the required supporting cast would be ensuring failure and one could argue would be unfair to Bellingham himself, because he would get the bulk of the criticism given the price tag. Now he will have to make a decision whether to wait for LFC one more season - and there is no reason why a 19-year-old couldn’t stay in Dortmund where he is adored for another year - and if he chases the money of City or glamour of Madrid than maybe we were wrong about him being the man to build our team around for the next 10 years.

Let’s build up the squad, fill the obvious holes with quality and talent, clear out the has-beens and the freeloaders and then in a year we can think about adding a “cherry on top” player. Whether that player will be Bellingham or someone else will be up to him.

I can hear John Henry already...
Jurgen that money that we gave you (250m) was only for last season, If you can get Jude for 50m or less great but that will be your yearly transfer budget from now on

 

[Squiggles]

It's hard to identify targets because we simply do not know what the long term plan is in so many areas. Is Nunez staying as a LWF? Is Gakpo now a 9 and not a LWF anymore? Are we keeping Salah for the length of his contract? Is 4-3-3 staying? What's the long term plan with Trent?

If we want to go back to what made us successful - a work horse midfield, supplemented by flying fullbacks and a beautifully in-sync attacking line then we need a completely different type of midfield target. We attempted to move beyond that by signing Thiago, and maybe even Nunez, but now we seem to be in some type of disjointed, transitional never zone. I'd love to be a fly on the wall at some of them discussions last summer but more importantly right now, and what the future plan is.

I find some of the players we're linked with a bit obvious and uninspiring, TBH. Rice and Mount are both decent players, but we'll be paying world-class fees for decent players, and that doesn't scream smart recruitment for a club with a famously limited budget.

I could stomach Mount in the £50-55m range, but I do think we'll need to supplement that with some signings outside the Premier League to get more bang for our buck. We're always going to need players that out perform their transfer fee to be able to compete. We need to get back to finding those players.

 

[peterhague]

It's hard to identify targets because we simply do not know what the long term plan is in so many areas. Is Nunez staying as a LWF? Is Gakpo now a 9 and not a LWF anymore? Are we keeping Salah for the length of his contract? Is 4-3-3 staying? What's the long term plan with Trent?

If we want to go back to what made us successful - a work horse midfield, supplemented by flying fullbacks and a beautifully in-sync attacking line then we need a completely different type of midfield target. We attempted to move beyond that by signing Thiago, and maybe even Nunez, but now we seem to be in some type of disjointed, transitional never zone. I'd love to be a fly on the wall at some of them discussions last summer but more importantly right now, and what the future plan is.

I find some of the players we're linked with a bit obvious and uninspiring, TBH. Rice and Mount are both decent players, but we'll be paying world-class fees for decent players, and that doesn't scream smart recruitment for a club with a famously limited budget.

I could stomach Mount in the £50-55m range, but I do think we'll need to supplement that with some signings outside the Premier League to get more bang for our buck. We're always going to need players that out perform their transfer fee to be able to compete. We need to get back to finding those players.

I think that's the REAL bottom line, here. Whether we beat the odds, or come in at par or worse, fundamentally the owners don't have the resources to allow us to compete on an equal footing.

It's always just going to revert to about 4th to 7th in the league, in line with spending. We don't have any magic formula that other clubs with more money can't just copy.

 

[rubans]

Our transfer budget and spend has always been a team just around 4-8 mini league for the last 12yrs.
We have other costs such as infra and renewals but so do other teams around the same position.
Klopp and the team’s management have got us to well above our position with good coordinated build recently but we don’t have a Coutinho to rebuild so if we get back into top 4 next season then we would have done fantastic as the current top 4 will outspend us probably 2:1 on transfers alone I would imagine as things stand.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

I think Mount would be a very good addition - he's on the same level imo as a young Hendo or even Gini.
With Klopp's touch, he may even be better than them and he's a the right age to do so.

 

[dmishra]

For a PL midfielder, I'd take MacAllister above all the other options. Apparently we met with his dad recently, so I think we're going to pursue this one seriously.

He's Thiago and Henderson rolled into one, very technically able but also mobile and positionally intelligent. Would solve a lot of our issues.

 

[Hyena]

For a PL midfielder, I'd take MacAllister above all the other options. Apparently we met with his dad recently, so I think we're going to pursue this one seriously.

He's Thiago and Henderson rolled into one, very technically able but also mobile and positionally intelligent. Would solve a lot of our issues.

I'm sure we met with Jude's dad too. It'll be a no go once Brighton refuse our final offer of 40m

 

[LeTallecWiz]

For a PL midfielder, I'd take MacAllister above all the other options. Apparently we met with his dad recently, so I think we're going to pursue this one seriously.

He's Thiago and Henderson rolled into one, very technically able but also mobile and positionally intelligent. Would solve a lot of our issues.

I think a Mount + MacAllister addition to the midfield makes us a top 4 contender immediately ...
Why?
because it makes our midfield so much better that a lot of the weaknesses we've seen in the back & front would be improved with those two buzzing around and pressing.

 

[Fabio]

I think a Mount + MacAllister addition to the midfield makes us a top 4 contender immediately ...
Why?
because it makes our midfield so much better that a lot of the weaknesses we've seen in the back & front would be improved with those two buzzing around and pressing.

It's mount, mcallister and another, then maybe we could have discussions about CL. We're extremely thin on the ground tht just 2 decent mids isn't enough now

 

[Frogfish]

Not sure why Gavi and FdJ are not in the conversation? FdJ would cost about £60m, and Barca would be up for doing cash plus Thiago deal. We know LFC are useless at selling.
MF options we've been linked to
Ugarte €53m, Gonclaves €80m, Gravenbach (Loan) Kone €35m, FdJ €70m, Gavi (Free), Alex Scott €30m, Thuram €35m, Tielemans (Free), Kamada (Free) Barella €50m, Mount €70m Gallagher €50m, Rice €80m, Musah €35 Tchoumeni €80m Koopenmeiers €30m
There are some East Europeans who play in the Italian League but their names are just too cumbersome for me like Milo...vic
If we sold Jota or Salah, then Gonclaves would be the first signature I would seek. He basically can play anywhere (wings, MF and FW).

None of these journos know what's really going on behind the scenes or who is/isn't being considered - they may pick up a rumour or a whisper from within the club here or there.

Witness the astonishment of many of them over the past few years when we've sprung surprises on them. Most of them only seem to pick up on what's going on once it's virtually concluded - a week before they arrive.

 

[Frogfish]

I'm sure we met with Jude's dad too. It'll be a no go once Brighton refuse our final offer of 40m

Maybe we've decided to exacerbate the age issue by signing all the Dads in the hope their sons will follow them on frees.

 

[Red Bird]

It's hard to identify targets because we simply do not know what the long term plan is in so many areas. Is Nunez staying as a LWF? Is Gakpo now a 9 and not a LWF anymore? Are we keeping Salah for the length of his contract? Is 4-3-3 staying? What's the long term plan with Trent?

If we want to go back to what made us successful - a work horse midfield, supplemented by flying fullbacks and a beautifully in-sync attacking line then we need a completely different type of midfield target. We attempted to move beyond that by signing Thiago, and maybe even Nunez, but now we seem to be in some type of disjointed, transitional never zone. I'd love to be a fly on the wall at some of them discussions last summer but more importantly right now, and what the future plan is.

I find some of the players we're linked with a bit obvious and uninspiring, TBH. Rice and Mount are both decent players, but we'll be paying world-class fees for decent players, and that doesn't scream smart recruitment for a club with a famously limited budget.

I could stomach Mount in the £50-55m range, but I do think we'll need to supplement that with some signings outside the Premier League to get more bang for our buck. We're always going to need players that out perform their transfer fee to be able to compete. We need to get back to finding those players.

This is why I think the targets in the papers are made up or meant to throw the scent off real targets.

I don’t seriously get the outrage in blogosphere about dropping interest Bellingham but then I’ve never bought into the hype. The upper echelons have already admitted to making mistakes in the summer and I reckon they will address these.

 

[bluebell]

The problem with Mount is he has no presence.
If Rice is available, make a bid for him.
FdJ, Gavi, Rice, Gonclaves, Ndicka, RB.
Sell
Jota or Salah £60-80m
Thiago £15m
Nats £10m
Matip £5m
£90-110m in sales roughly
Not gonna happen regardless

 

[rubans]

I don’t know what Mount still is and possibly same for Gallagher. Tidy at times but we lack pace and athleticsm in the middle which neither have.
We shouldn’t be spending anything related to Mount on the figures quoted with a year left.

Would love Rice, think he would own the DM role and can rediscover his previous form at Anfield. Like his personality too, he would mix well with existing senior lads.

 

[mom]

We’re skint. If you really wanna know who we’re gonna be buying next season have a peek at the Championship

 

[LeTallecWiz]

I don’t know what Mount still is and possibly same for Gallagher. Tidy at times but we lack pace and athleticsm in the middle which neither have.
We shouldn’t be spending anything related to Mount on the figures quoted with a year left.

Would love Rice, think he would own the DM role and can rediscover his previous form at Anfield. Like his personality too, he would mix well with existing senior lads.

I am not Glock here but I don't see any difference pace/athleticism wise between what I see from Mount today and what we saw from gini before we signed him from Newcastle.

I've not seen Gallagher enough this year to say the same thing

 

[Red Bird]

I am not Glock here but I don't see any difference pace/athleticism wise between what I see from Mount today and what we saw from gini before we signed him from Newcastle.

I've not seen Gallagher enough this year to say the same thing

But there’s an absolute chasm in technical ability.

 

[Farkmaster]

I really really don't want rice or mount, especially rice.

 

[peekay]

Maybe we've decided to exacerbate the age issue by signing all the Dads in the hope their sons will follow them on frees.

Not a bad strategy. Marcus Thuram's dad Lilian is 51 years old. Confident he can play in case of emergency and do a better job than Gomez.

 

[Hyena]

This is why I think the targets in the papers are made up or meant to throw the scent off real targets.

I don’t seriously get the outrage in blogosphere about dropping interest Bellingham but then I’ve never bought into the hype. The upper echelons have already admitted to making mistakes in the summer and I reckon they will address these.

The upper echelons think of themselves as utter geniuses. If you think they are intent on 'addressing' any mistakes I've got a bridge to sell you.

 

[peekay]

I am not Glock here but I don't see any difference pace/athleticism wise between what I see from Mount today and what we saw from gini before we signed him from Newcastle.

I've not seen Gallagher enough this year to say the same thing

Gini is a completely different level of a player compared to Mount and Gallagher - technically, physically and tactically. Mount and Gallagher cannot even dream of having a compilation like this.

 

[LeTallecWiz]

Gini is a completely different level of a player compared to Mount and Gallagher - technically, physically and tactically. Mount and Gallagher cannot even dream of having a compilation like this.

"what we saw from gini before we signed him from Newcastle"

I'm not saying Gini wasn't a great player for us - losing him was the start of our deterioration in midfield - but I think Klopp made him an even better player.
Could he not do the same with either player so they could have a nice compilation too ?